registered nurse

registered nurse - dialysis

patient care technician

licensed practical nurse

social worker

Fresenius Medical Care

Company is really behind the times in technology, unless they are facing a crisis, or some kind of findings by the FDA.   Then the company will upgrade or install some new technology, but still try to cut corners.

Management is not proactive, only reactive when there is a problem or a crisis.   No clear direction or leadership from the top.
Management is clueless, unprofessional, unethical, egotistical, and vindictive.   They are afraid that you know more than they do and can show them up.   If you get on their wrong side they will outright lie and make up negative stories about you to manipulate perceptions in their favor.   The only things the management are really good at  - distracting, deflecting criticism and accountability, and detracting the employees for inane reasons.  And they are quick to throw you or anybody else under the bus to save their own skins.

Too much politics going on.   Favoritism is pretty obivious.
Company policies are not applied objectively across the board, but favorite employees get special treatment, often under the table.
But they try to hide this from you.

You only get a chance at opportunities if you accept eveyrthing management says as gospel and go along with everything
they want even if it's not the most feasible or practical way or best practice to do a project.

They put no value in developing their employees.
Contrary to what they say, they really do not value your experience, ideas, suggestions, or input.   You get blackballed if you dare to have a different opinion, or to question them on things, or you say what you think is right.

Only their favorites get to work on the best and most desirable projects.
No opportunities for advancement unless you're a favorite of someone in management.

But if management wants something from you, they will dangle a little carrot in front of you.  Then when management get what they need, they yank the carrot away and give you some lame excuses why they cannot give you the little carrot.   But if you are a favorite, they will help cover up any mistakes you make and still promote you multiple times.

All your hard work will only serve to get bigger bonuses for the management and get them promoted.   You get no credit for all your hard work and accomplishments, and they will try to minimize what you did so they don't have to promote you or compensate you.   If you are one of their favorites, then you will get credit, even if you don't deserve it.

If you don't fit in with management's plans or don't want to play their games, they will pile on the stress and pressure to make you leave on your own.   This has already happened with several people in the department.

There are quite a bit of turf wars with other departments, lots of silos, and in-fighting and politics even among teams within the same department.   There is no fostering of team work.   Most teams protect their info and knowledge  -  it makes certain people feel they have the upper hand if they have more or better info than you do, and makes them feel more powerful.   Often it doesn't feel like we all work for the same company, but for a competitor.

If you really want to or need to work here, then get your green card, experience, whatever you want, and get out.
You're better off taking a chance at some other company.   But who knows, if you play management right you might become one of their favorites.

I don't know what it's really like out in the field, the clinics, distribution centers, or the regional offices.   But this is pretty much how it is at corporate headquarters.

This company has been strategically buying up smaller competitors and vertical industry businesses  -  it is becoming one of the too big to fail companies.   Don't know how this is going to pan out for the company or the industry or the patients.

First off, if your applying in the Lansing, Michigan area please run as fast as you can. I'm a 25 year medical professional who has worked in many different areas in healthcare . I was a young widow with 3 small children and I had custody of my niece who was multiply handicapped and required 24 hour care. In 2008 I lost my niece 6 week after losing my mother to sudden death because my brother committed suicide just before. I buried 5 family members that year and one being my actual job as caregiver. I was so excited to learn something new in dialysis and get my life back in order. I was so wrong, I have never experienced such unprofessionalism, lack of management and training, I have never been so belittled and just kicked until I was so down I couldnt get back up. I have always been known for my extreme work ethics and ALWAYS the ability to work well others, I had no chance here. My first weeks of training contained of playing gopher to a fowl mouthed "predecessor" who talked bad about the company and fellow co-workers from day one. She had me running for everyone's lunch which she stated she has everyone do and when I returned I am being called out by this sorry excuse for a nurse, in the clinic, in front of all patients about the concept of a half hour lunch and asked if I wasnt able to understand that and I need to start taking a proper break! Not to mention that if you injure yourself not only will they not let you seek medical attention, you will be made an example of by making sure your the last to leave. I had to work from 5am to 4pm with a broken toe and lacerated foot requiring twelve stitches which was not performed adequately since I waited so long and tissue had started to die on my foot. Management is non-existent, complaints go on deaf ears. Your personal information is told to co- workers so you have angry peers upset because you make more money than them and they let you know it!! The company has a biomedical department that repairs and maintains dialysis machines, that was not my job description nor was I trained on any sort of repair, but when I had a machine pump actually fall apart at my feet making it impossible to start my patients treatment and once again I got called out, in the clinic, in front of patients asking me what my problem was and why cant I seem to get the job done, not to mention this is the next day after my sister died suddenly and my co-worker made a point in telling the nurse about my tragedy and take it easy on me so she made it her goal to work me and talk to me as hard and foul as she possibly could. The straw that broke the camels back was when I went to lunch one day, out of the building and IMMEDIATELY upon my return I was approach by this "nurse" asking what my issue was. Not understanding what she meant since I just entered the building and when I went to my section that SHE was supposed to monitor, I had a patient dripping blood from their machine on the floor. (Lets go back 3 month earlier when I approached management about my patients not being attended to while I was on break and I was ignored) I proceded to clean the blood and go on with my day until I was called into the charge nurses office and was asked to explain my situation today!! I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about but the "nurse" had went to him and said I was negligent in letting the patient bleed and I wasnt even in the building!! I physically got ill and almost couldnt walk out of his office... this place totally broke my spirit and there was nothing more I could do to change anything, so instead of committing myself I chose to put my life in storage, to live basically homelss instead of enduring another day there. This little story is only a small fraction of what I endured there, if you care about people, care about policy and doing the best healthcare by everyone DO NOT WORK AT FRESENIUS LANSING

A typical day at work is fairly quiet with not much to do unless there's an ongoing project or an executive with no common technical knowledge has your direct line. Otherwise, my team's primary role is to address IT issues that are reported to the Help Desk and provide onsite support to whichever corporate office we reside in across the US. About 20% of the job is driving to local clinics for onsite support. Mileage and food are reimbursed generously. The customers at clinics are nice and mostly grateful to see any face of IT support. It's the same in the office with the exception of a few VPs and an admin who have reputations with everyone - peers and below - for their unpleasantness. These few abuse their position of power and clout by causing indiscriminate distress and react aggressively over petty issues and they do it unapologetically. One of them yelled at me and my manager in public for not having a spare bluetooth PowerPoint slide advancer available when one of their vendors showed up without one (read: not my job). This one also shamed me and a teammate in public for not having a spare clip for a lapel mic (???). I heard worse stories from colleagues who had been there longer. What made these experiences more tolerable for me was having a great manager who was not foreign to or immune to these abuses and quickly went to our defense and support. The manager was very personable, understanding, and probably the most helpful manager I've ever seen. The manager delegates work fairly and keeps the team on task. The manager allowed me to work remotely for a few days while I took care of an ill family member. There were many friendly people in the office I worked in. They were complementary to my manager and there were people who would easily talk to you about things outside of work.

The most enjoyable part of my job was getting to help people. Helping people is very fulfilling for me. This was sometimes difficult to do as a result of many IT decisions being made and actions taken with little or no notice or instruction to those in my role. Most updates are rolled out without our knowledge resulting in our team having to clean up the deployment issues unprepared. Most hardware standards are changed without any notice or explanation to us and we just have to figure it out as it is happening. Most policy changes are announced without any input from us resulting in confusion and we just have to make the best of it. When I first started, it took over three weeks before they created my email account. It took six months for my company cell phone to deliver. I felt isolated from the rest of company IT. These things aren't so frustrating because I take them personal but because they make it incredibly hard to be genuinely helpful to customers. 

They didn't offer me an exit interview but my manager was nice enough to take me to lunch with another team member on my last day and they asked me for feedback then. I replied that I don't have any suggestions for the team - I really did like my manager and many of my teammates and they do a great job at what they have the power to do. Any suggestions I would make are directed at the personalities that can change the greater company IT culture to create more transparency and access across IT teams. Oh, and to provide counseling services for those who have interaction with the grouches mentioned at the top. I'm only sort of kidding about that :)

FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE (ICG / FHP) – Austin, TX		2016 – 2018.
VP of Information Technology (IT) and Operations
Direct and oversee all aspects of IT, focusing on the development and implementation of effective initiatives and strategies to support and meet the objectives of the business. Ensure the highest level of quality in provision of informational support services ensuring compliance with all pertinent company standard operation procedures and local, state and federal regulation. Provide leadership, guidance and coaching to all direct reports to maintain an engaged and productive workforce.  
•  Lead, coach, influence and support staff through the interpretation, application and implementation of company-wide policies, documentation, controls and procedures relevant to the assigned functional area(s).  
•  Collaborate with employees and business stakeholders management in the establishment of development plans, and ensures appropriate job assignments, training, development, succession planning and the advancement of future leaders.  
•  Develop operating budgets as well Monitor IT and time management are within company requirements, including planning, staffing, resource allocation, forecasting, expense priority management, and the recommendation and implementation of best practices.  
•  Developed disaster recovery and business continuity Plan (BCP). Manage institutional related to data storage and security.  
•  Analyze technology and resource needs and plans/assesses the feasibility of projects. Direct the installation, testing, operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of facilities, equipment, and applications.  
•  Oversee all IT policies and procedures, project documentation, technical standards, and methods to ensure the security of information and assets.  
•  Design, budget, implement, train and maintain multiple technologies including, Telecommunications, standard business computer systems, complex integrated information systems, internal and external networks including appropriate security protections.  
•  Identify opportunities to reduce redundancy, streamline processes, improve quality to reduce cost and be cost effective. 
•  Assist in the evaluation of and maintain finance and accounting systems, human capital management systems, including time and attendance hardware, asset tracking, and other systems as required.  
•  Implemented network and security monitoring with Solarwinds software.  
•  Establish protocols in the facilitation of strategic interdepartmental cooperation, motivating development of new tools and methods for dealing with crisis situations.  
•  Build and maintain strategic relationships with third parties and serves as a representative of the organization to external customers.  
•  Implemented and review all IT metrics and reporting, (Helpdesk, network, servers and security) for the three divisions I was overseeing to measures SLA and be able to improve them. 
•  Led all corporate IT audits (SOX, HITRUST, Clients and Government, PCI) to be regulatory compliance.
•  Led the migration for three divisions from MS 365 standalone environment to the Fresenius corporate MS 365 environment. 
•  Led the implementation for all a Citrix farm to allow customer service representatives been able to access all systems from home.
•  Certified Fresenius Health Partners with the HITRUST certification in less than a year as well implemented governance and ITIL principles across the area.
 good place to work

As a new bio-med tech this job is completely overwhelming. You will be responsible for everything not medically related. Not only will you be responsible for maintaining and servicing the dialysis machines and the main water system but… medical inventory (ordering, putting away, accounting for it at end of month and end of year), building maintenance and the scheduling of all licensed vendors, training of the floor staff on use of medical equipment and water testing procedures, keeping detailed records on all mechanical and machine systems and PM’s and any other thing that will come to the staff minds on any given day. Oh… and you will be responsible for doing this at two different locations as well as any other locations that loose a bio-med for many numerous reasons. You are also on call 2 weeks out of the month and there is no set schedule due to the needs of the business. You will be working many long 10+ hour days, split shifts and lots of nights and weekends, especially Sundays.

You will learn the job through trial and error mostly. You will receive training for one week on the overview of the dialysis machines and on the water systems and from there you will be expected to know how to fix everything at all times. No pressure… it’s just your job or someone’s life if you make a mistake or do something out of procedure. And you will receive the pay equivalent of a temp employee working overtime at time and a half. Lucky you.

Another aspect of your job will be to report at monthly safety and quality meetings at all of your sites. This can be a very stressful meeting depending on the management style of the management and the medical staff and can make meeting end of month deadlines near impossible.

If you are divorced, have no family and never expect to have personal friendships ever again then this is the job for you! The company will be glad to use you up. The even better news is they offer incredible medical benefits with that amazingly low pay. And if there is ever a disaster in your community you will be glad to be a part of this company. They will take care of you and any remaining loved ones who stick with you better than any company in the medical industry. They want to make sure you always show up to work!

The technical management team was awesome in Northern California. I felt like they had my back during the many difficult transitions my sites went through. For the most part the technical management is forced into overseeing this ridiculous (and in my opinion dangerous) work load by the corporate horde at the top.

This is a profit at all cost company while also setting some of the highest standards of care in the industry. You will be working for the leader of the industry who has the continual ability to buy up their competition and buy up smaller medical businesses over time. This is a very stable company to work for if you can keep up with it.

The most enjoyable part of the job was going on the training and having vacation time where I was able to turn off my work phone for a week. Other than that… get ready to be worked insanely hard! Good luck.

I worked as a PCT at Fresenius, and my experience was disappointing enough that I would not recommend this facility to prospective employees. The hours were exhausting. Despite references to opening and closing shifts, there was really no such distinction. If patients were still on treatment or work remained to be done, you stayed. Long days were the norm rather than the exception, making work-life balance difficult to maintain.
The compensation did not reflect the workload, physical demands, stress level, or responsibilities expected of PCTs. Employees are expected to do a tremendous amount for relatively low pay. The culture was one of the biggest issues. Many of the established PCTs operated within a tight-knit clique that did not seem interested in welcoming or supporting new hires. Gossip about new employees was common, and instead of fostering teamwork, there was often an atmosphere of judgment and exclusion. What was even more disappointing was seeing members of management engage in or tolerate the same behavior. My preceptor frequently undermined me rather than mentoring me. Concerns were taken to others before they were ever discussed with me directly, making it difficult to learn and improve. Instead of feeling supported during training, I often felt set up to fail. I also felt that I was constantly being nitpicked. Every mistake, no matter how minor, seemed to be highlighted, while positive contributions and improvements were rarely acknowledged. Constructive feedback is important in healthcare, especially for new employees, but there is a significant difference between coaching someone and making them feel as though they can never do anything right. The lack of positive reinforcement made it difficult to build confidence and created an environment where I often felt criticized rather than supported, and left feeling defeated after every shift.
Training felt rushed from the beginning. New hires were expected to assume responsibilities before they were comfortable or adequately prepared. Questions were not always welcomed, yet expectations remained high regardless of experience level. What concerned me most were the inconsistencies between classroom training and what occurred in the clinic. I repeatedly heard variations of, "That's how they teach it in class, but this is how we do it out here on the clinical floor," and comments implying that procedures changed depending on whether inspectors or specific members of  management were present. Those experiences raised serious concerns for me about compliance, consistency, and patient safety. There is a reason I am not the only recent hire who has left. Retention appears to be a recurring challenge, and after working there, I can understand why. Fresenius has the potential to be a rewarding place to work, but in my experience, the long hours, low compensation, lack of support for new employees, constant criticism, rushed training, and questionable workplace culture created an environment where it was difficult to succeed and even harder to feel valued. 

Assist other health care members in providing patient specific detailed education regarding adequacy measures where appropriate - Online Clearance Monitoring (OLC), Adequacy Monitoring Program (AMP), Urea Kinetic Modeling (UKM), and regarding disease process/access.
Welcome assigned patients and inquire as to their well-being since their last treatment. Report any complaints or observations to the nurse supervisor.
Evaluate vascular access for patency and report any unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Obtain necessary pre and post treatment vital signs and weight.  Report unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Perform vascular access evaluation pre-treatment and report unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Perform vascular access cannulation and report any difficulties in cannulation or unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Perform administration of Heparin as delegated or as allowed by state law. 
Initiate dialysis treatment according to prescribed orders including blood flow (QB) and dialysate flow (QD).
Evaluate intradialytic problems and provide intervention as prescribed by physician order or as directed.
Monitor patients’ response to dialysis therapy and report any unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Obtain vital signs prior to reinfusion; perform all relevant functions necessary for the discontinuation of treatment - document.
Discontinue dialysis treatment according to established procedures,
Evaluate patient prior to termination of venous access - standing & sitting blood pressure.
Obtain Hemostasis and apply appropriate dressings.  
Evaluate the patient for prior to discharge and report any unusual findings to nurse supervisor.
Perform and record Pre and Post dialysis evaluation, weight and vital signs with initial identification.
Responsible for calculating and entry of individual patients’ dialysis machine programming for Ultrafiltration (UF) goal; treatment time; Sodium (Na) modeling; and UF modeling as prescribed.
Responsible for ensuring appropriate safety alarms are enabled, including Narrow Venous Limits (NVL) 160.
Record accurate and timely information regarding vital signs and treatment parameters onto the Hemodialysis Treatment Sheet with initial identification.
Responsible for accurate documentation of information related to patient treatment including completion of Hemodialysis Treatment Sheet and, if applicable, progress notes.
Report any significant information and/or change in patient condition directly to the nurse supervisor. 
Observe patient, and conduct machine safety checks according to facility policy.  Report any change or unusual findings to the nurse supervisor.
Perform and document any intervention for unusual patient status and document patients' response to intervention.
Evaluate patients’ vascular access during treatment including arterial and venous monitoring pressures, provide appropriate intervention as needed, document and report any unusual findings to the nurse supervisor.
Obtain all prescribed laboratory testing and prepare specimens for collection

I worked with this company for over 13 years.  I started here when I was 19 years old as a unit secretary.  I then got cross trained over to a PCT and from there became the Administrative Assistant.  The last year an a half was indescribably horrible.  I was bullied and harassed by the nurse manager.  My job responsibilities were to do the payroll, reports for QAPI, end of the month reports, etc.  after reviewing the nurse managers job description come to find out I was doing her job but not getting paid to do so.  I tried reaching out to the area manager to report the horrible things that were happening to me and he just looked away and did not even want to talk to me, and never responded to my emails reaching out for help.  I was informed that I had to chose my friends wisely and that I could not have any friends in the workplace.  I was informed by the nurse manager that I needed to get my medications checked because I was emotionally unstable and that I also needed to raise my son on my own and to move out from my parents house.  I printed out all of my emails to try to sit down with the area manager to discuss with him the issues that I was having and he refused to sit down with me to discuss any of these issues.  My life was complete Hell the last year and a half and no words can describe what I encountered while working there.  I have never in my life been treated so badly by anyone.  My health was affected and my social well being.  I tried applying to sixty other jobs while employed there and I never received any offers.  Being a single mother I could not just up and quit since I carry the health insurance for my son and I.  A new manager started at the clinic and the old nurse manager was able to keep a job even since I was the 38th employee who either resigned or quit while she was the manager for 14 months.  I gave a 2.5 week notice and stayed on for two months out of respect for the new manager to train him on his job.  I was informed by the new manager that I was not to come back to the clinic unless he called me for help and he needed me to come back and work the following week to finish the NHSN project.  I left there and sent an email to resign my PRN position.  I sent an email requesting my employee file. It took over 30 days and Illinois law states 5 business days.  The new manager told all employees that they could not talk to me anymore so I have no friends there anymore.  The new manager sent an email to my phone stating that I could not even return my key and I was not allowed on the companies property because I would cause a disruption to the clinic and if I stepped foot on the property then precautionary measures would be taken.  I have never in my life been treated like this!!!

What I learned;
I learned how to troubleshoot and repair dialysis machines and water rooms first as a biomed then area technical operations manager. I also learned a lot of manager skills. As an atom i was a mentor/supervisors for Fresenius biomeds, sometimes I was a backup if the biomed want available or sick. Work life balance for an area technical operations manager can be very poor depending on several factors.  This review kinda covers life as a biomed and area technical operations manager, mainly my experience. As always every experience is different and i always encourage people to find out for themselves if they want to work for a company or not. Fresenius is great for starting a career in biomed.
Pros- stable job, dialysis is getting more in demand due to declining health of the US population.
Mileage paid for using personal vehicle to travel to clinics besides home clinic.
Overtime is frequent.
Benefits are OK.
Biomeds are paid extra for every week they are on call. And get paid overtime if called in before or after normal working hours.
Cons
Biomeds are also expected to replace ceiling tiles, light bulbs, call plumbers, hvac repair, contractors etc to also help fix physical environmental issues. Biomeds are also responsible for ordering dialysis supplies weekly or bi weekly depending on the clinic.
Biomeds also have to audit clinic logs and report findings to the clinical Manager, sometimes in-service the patient care staff that fills out said logs. 
On call can get crazy as clinics do have issues or emergencies from time to time that can cause the on call biomed to have to come in at 4 am or as late as midnight depending on the emergency.
Work life balance can be effected. On call can also involve respondong to an emergency at a clinc greater than 100 miles at the drop of a hat greatly due to many factors. 
Turnover is usually because of poor work life balance or burnout. The biomedical/ area technical operations manager job can be a very thankless job.
The water system depending on which type can cause biomeds to have to come in when a clinic is closed to do maintenance  on it monthly or as needed. Most maintenance on the water system is discouraged during normsl operating hours or during the week. Sundays are usually the best day to do said maintenance which goes back to work life balance not being to great.
Biomeds are expected to use their personal vehicle for work and miles can pile up fast, company vehicles are rarely assigned unless you work in a special program or are in upper management.
Hopefully this review provides some insight



What is the best part of working at the company?
Caring for the patient and making a difference in someone’s life.  Providing the treatment that they need to sustain a better quality of life. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being overworked and underpaid.  they constantly add more task for the technicians to do, but never paid them properly. The raises are horrible. You work a whole year to get pennies and they have even went so far as to push the raise back three months so you have gotten even less the company does not appreciate the hard work that the workers do every day. It’s all about numbers not about employee safety or patient safety. The company has gone way down and it’s only a shadow of what it used to be. The managers are greedy. They try to overwork you putting extra patients  on you so they can make their numbers and their bonuses by saving production and not even sharing with the people who helped them to get it bonuses 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment can be difficult most of the time because morale is so low, not only with the employees but with the patients. The managers or registered nurses, that does not mean they’re fit to manage most of the time the legitimate complaints are swept under the rug because they don’t want to deal with the hassle or the headache. And it’s always a get back game if you go to upper management about the manager, they find reasons to write you up or try to get you fired, they will lie  and try to get others to turn on you so they can get back at you for going over their head. a lot of the patients are noncompliant because they have not been properly educated on what and why they are on dialysis and what they need the services for. For us could do way better business if they only took the time to really address the patients need instead of making it a given go and get them gone type situation, a lot of this has to do with mental health which should be a part of the patient dialysis treatment, but it’s often swept under the rug and ignored. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
it can be hail on any given day. Depending on the attitudes with the employees, the tension in the clinic and what part of the year they are in to make their quotes to get their bonus. They always try to put extra patients on you by cutting back on text with some of the ridiculous ratios of five and six to one. Also they continuously reschedule patients just to further bill Medicaid and insurance companies to get money to make larger profits it’s not for the patient well-being at allfor their financial game

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 512 salaries reported	$38.53 per hour
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Licensed practical nurse 20 salaries reported	$26.05 per hour
Social worker 70 salaries reported	$60,181 per year

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